LONDON—CASE Europe today announced the recipients of its 2011 leadership, matched funding and volunteer awards during an evening reception hosted at the British Academy.

The CASE Europe Leadership Award recognises individuals for outstanding achievements and leadership in advancement and education. The Matched Funding Awards recognise individuals who improved and sustained fundraising at their institutions in 2010-2011 through the matched funding scheme.

"CASE Europe is delighted that these awards honour a series of individuals—an institutional principal, a senior volunteer and three professional fundraising teams—who have all demonstrated clear leadership in advancing the cause of giving to higher education," says Kate Hunter, executive director for CASE Europe. "We are also pleased to honour the achievements that the Matched Funding Scheme for Voluntary Giving has given to the sector through these awards."

The winners of the 2011 awards are:

Leadership award recipient—Professor Sir Rick Trainor, Principal, King's College London. Trainor's strategic vision, drive and active involvement in all advancement areas have led to numerous successful initiatives at King's College, including a £500 million fundraising campaign, which has already secured more than £200 million. Trainor's dedication to service has helped strengthen the college's global profile and media presence, which contributed to its being named The Sunday Times University of the Year in 2010-11. And as president of Universities UK, Trainor was instrumental in the launch of the current Matched Funding for Voluntary Giving scheme, which has helped achieve a significant shift in the culture of giving to higher education.Matched Funding Awards

Tier 1: Wolverhampton University—The impact of the matched funding scheme on fundraising at the University of Wolverhampton is particularly seen through the development of a new learning resource facility, the 'Ambika Paul Student Union Centre.' The centre was unveiled in 2010 after £0.5 million was raised to revamp the facility. The Rt Hon Lord Paul of Marylebone, PC, who is chancellor of the university and a donor, said, "Education and student welfare are of paramount importance to the future strength of the nation. I am proud to be chancellor of the university, and I am glad that the Paul family's foundation has been able to support this facility."

Tier 2: The University of Brighton—With the help of the matched funding scheme, the university's development and alumni relations office has expanded significantly and gained credibility. The office raised awareness of its activities through matching gifts and achieved higher engagement from colleagues across the university as a result. The scheme also supported the swift implementation and establishment of 'The Ambassadors,' a leadership giving club which has brought together a group of 50 donors who give £1k per annum.

Tier 3: School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS)—Matched funding has transformed the engagement of SOAS staff, students, alumni and supporters in philanthropy. Supported by the school's leadership, a new development and alumni relations team has fostered new initiatives, including a first-ever telephone campaign. More than 35 percent of alumni contacted since 2010 have made or pledged a gift, and more than £100,000 has been raised for scholarships, the hardship fund and student outreach projects. Volunteer and academic colleagues have helped multiply the number of major gifts and the maximum tier 3 cap is within sight. In addition, matched funding income has enabled SOAS to set up an ambitious doctoral scholarship programme and a variety of other scholarships.

Matched Funding Volunteer of the Year Award- Steve Maycock, board member, The University of Brighton—Maycock's wide-ranging engagement with the university's development and alumni office has led to greater awareness of the importance of philanthropy among key stakeholders. His support has been significant. He is one of the first members and governors to sign up to 'The Ambassadors,' and he chairs the 'Disbursement Advisory Group,' a committee tasked with accepting and disbursing philanthropic funds. His motivation and passion for fundraising and his efforts to raise the profile of the matched funding scheme have made him an exemplary volunteer.

CASE Europe also commends Professor Pamela Shawfrom theUniversity of SheffieldandProfessor Elaine Thomasatthe University for the CreativeArts for the leadership they have shown in contributing to their institutions' fundraising efforts.In addition, the following universities were acknowledgement for making significant and innovative progress in their fundraising efforts and successfully implementing the matched funding scheme:

Tier 1—University for the Creative ArtsandNorwich University College of the Arts

The matched funding scheme is a government-led program that aims to increase voluntary giving to higher education providers. All higher education institutions and directly funded further education colleges in England have been invited to participate in the scheme.

Eligible gifts to participating institutions will be matched through a fund of £200 million. Such institutions will receive matched funding according to their place in one of three tiers, each with a different funding ratio and cap suitable for institutions with differing degrees of fundraising experience.

The scheme, the first in the UK, started on 1 August 2008 and runs until July 2011. For further information, visit www.hefce.ac.uk/finance/fundinghe/vol/.A similar £10m scheme in Wales is administered by The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and runs until 2012.

About the CASE Europe Leadership Award:

The CASE Europe Leadership Award recognises CASE member institution heads, presidents, vice-chancellors and leaders throughout Europe for their outstanding efforts in promoting and supporting education through actively supporting 'advancement'. The award honours leaders who create a vision and inspire others with their ambition, establish a positive image for their institution while leading it to higher levels of success; increase their institution's stature in the community and encourage innovation and risk-taking among employees.

Recipients of the CASE Leadership Award are chosen from a wide pool of nominees. Winners are selected by an awards subcommittee, which is formed by a cross-section of advancement professionals from across Europe. The nominations for the Matched Funding Awards are selected by data, supplied by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), that has demonstrated that the institutions have improved and sustained their fundraising performance in years 1 and 2 of the scheme. The Leadership, Matched Funding and Volunteer Awards are all endorsed by the CASE Europe Board of Trustees. Winners of the Volunteer of the Year are nominated by the winning institutions.

About CASE

CASE believes in advancing education to transform lives and society. As a global nonprofit membership association of educational institutions, CASE helps develop the communities of professional practice that build institutional resilience and success in challenging times. The communities include staff engaged in alumni relations, fundraising, marketing, student recruitment, stakeholder engagement, crisis communications and government relations. CASE is volunteer-led and uses the intellectual capital of senior practitioners to build capacity and capability across the world.

CASE has offices in Washington, D.C., London, Singapore and Mexico City. Member institutions include more than 3,700 colleges and universities, primary and secondary independent and international schools, and nonprofit organizations in 82 countries. CASE serves nearly 88,000 practitioners. For more information about CASE, please visit www.case.org.